


String of Hearts

by depozyt



Series: ficlets, drabbles & unfinished projects [2]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Crushes, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Love Confessions, M/M, Magical Realism, and he loves his friends, kyungsoo's a subtle green witch, that's it that's the fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-29 17:28:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19404859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/depozyt/pseuds/depozyt
Summary: Kyungsoo has named all his succulents after his friends. The plants' health somehow seems to be interconnected with the emotional wellbeing of their namesake.Jongdae's starts to bloom out of season.Inspired by Soo's station cover art andthese





	String of Hearts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kontrap0st](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kontrap0st/gifts).



> for z, who wanted me to write for these two for some time  
> this is just a little, sappy thing i wrote during working on a bigger project, nevertheless, i hope you'll enjoy

It started by accident. Kyungsoo never actually meant to start naming his plants after his friends. And as with most things in his life he’s not sure he’s proud of, he can easily trace the origins of the joke to Baekhyun. 

During his birthday a few years ago, besides the usual gag gifts, which often included either unnecessary kitchen supplies or, if he was in a relationship at the time, different variations of pink, fuzzy handcuffs, Baekhyun handed to him a tall, aggressively green cactus. 

“It reminded me of Chanyeol,” he said back then. “I’m sure the plant will be better at expressing emotions when something is bothering it than its namesake.” And for that joke, Chanyeol threw a pillow at him, almost knocking the innocent plant in the process.

And so, Kyungsoo rolled with it. At the beginning mostly to pester Chanyeol, who to quote “thought it was mean to compare him to a literal prick”. But after a while, Kyungsoo really did notice a peculiar dependence. 

When Chanyeol was sick or bothered by something, the plant started to wrinkle and little yellow spots appeared. Initially, Kyungsoo blamed it on too little sunlight, or fertilizer, the weather or even not talking to it enough. Plants like it when you talk to them after all, and maybe this particular cactus didn’t want to hear Kyungsoo complain about the culinary school anymore. Maybe it liked poetry or foreign cinema? 

Henceforth, Kyungsoo tried to accommodate. He talked about different movies he’s seen, even read Robert Frost aloud. But after Chanyeol went through a tough breakup, and the poor little thing almost wilted, Kyungsoo officially acknowledged the strange connection between Chanyeol’s emotional wellbeing and the plant’s health. 

And this short backstory brings us to the present day. If having one magic cactus wasn’t enough, over the years Kyungsoo has acquired a bunch of them, each named after a friend, family member or an acquaintance. He has picked a different type for everyone, Baek’s is a plush plant, Chanyeol’s an opuntia, and Jongdae’s… Well, Jongdae’s is a Christmas cactus, which blooms with vibrant, red flowers during late winter.

But the spring has just started and this fierce, little sprout is blooming, violently even. Kyungsoo has counted more than 15 flowers, and there are still small, pink buds waiting for their turn. 

This is obviously very good, it means something amazing must’ve happened and Jongdae’s happy. It’s just that Kyungsoo doesn’t know why. They talk every day, but the other boy hasn’t mentioned anything. He simply smiles at Kyungsoo as always. 

Kyungsoo tells himself it’s fine, everyone has the right to privacy, and if Jongdae hasn’t told him, it means it’s none of Kyungsoo’s business. Nonetheless, he can’t stop thinking about Jongdae, and one day he gives in and texts Baekhyun. He sends him a picture of Jongdae’s plant, captioned “ _Do you know anything about this? It should bloom in winter ://_ ”. To Kyungsoo’s dismay, the only reply he receives is a laughing emoji and an enigmatic, as well as unhelpful “ _Soon!_ ”.

But Kyungsoo doesn’t want to wait around and see whether this “soon” is actually soon, or just Baekhyun’s codeword for “maybe tomorrow, maybe never”. And so, he texts Jongdae. 

_“Do you have anything to brag about? You should tell me those things!”_ this time he attaches a selca with the cactus in the background.

Jongdae replies with a keysmash that somehow instead of laughter conveys utter stress. 

So texting didn’t work out, it’s fine, Kyungsoo’s fine. He has to ask Jongdae in person tomorrow. Which shouldn’t be a problem, but at this point, he really starts to wonder whether he isn’t being too intrusive. He goes to bed that night with his thoughts filled with Jongdae, and beautiful, crimson red flowers.

“Dae!” he shouts when he sees the other boy the next day. Kyungsoo’s been walking home, his classes ended a while ago, and he has been sitting in the cafe studying (procrastinating and drinking coffee), waiting for Jongdae’s vocal practice to end. “Wait for me!” he offers him his best, heart-shaped smile.

“Oh, hi,” Jongdae says, his voice unsure. “Didn’t your classes end at three?”

“I had to study,” Kyungsoo answers embarrassed he got caught like this. “Wanna grab some coffee?” he offers.

“Sure.”

They walk in silence, each of them occupied with their own thoughts, after a few minutes they find a small, cozy cafe. After they collect their orders and sit somewhere comfortable, Kyungsoo finally summons the courage

“What made you so happy that your plant started to bloom?” 

Jongdae doesn’t immediately answer. Instead, he takes a sip of his coffee, his eyes avoiding Kyungsoo.

“ _You,_ ” he says, eyes focused on the table in front of him. “It’s you, Kyungsoo, you make me so happy.” he finishes quietly, so unlike himself.

Kyungsoo smiles, partially to himself but also to reassure Jongdae. He too is happy, 

He grabs Jongdae’s hand laying on the table and intertwines their fingers.

“You too. You too, make me happy.” he sees Jongdae look up, his long lashes no longer obscuring his eyes. 

They finish their drinks, Kyungsoo still holding Jongdae’s hand, and head out of the cafe. It’s gotten a bit chilly in the meantime, and Kyungsoo stops to pull out a thin scarf from his bag. Jondae takes it from him, just to muffle him up. Kyungsoo decides to take advantage of it, and gives Jongdae a quick peck on the lips.

The other boy smiles into the kiss but doesn’t dare to deepen it, and so, Kyungsoo has to take initiative again. Jongdae tastes sweet, like the caramel macchiato he’s ordered, and the way he nibbles on Kyungsoo’s lower lip draws a small moan from the shorter boy. 

And this moment alone makes Kyungsoo realize just how much he wanted this, how much Jongdae makes him happy.

**Author's Note:**

> come bother me on [twt](https://twitter.com/b0rowka/)  
> on second thought, it's junmyeon who should've been an opuntia because they're sometimes called "bunny ears cacti"
> 
> comments and kudos are greatly appreciated! and thanks for reading this far!


End file.
